


Finals: Round One

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: King's College [2]
Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Finals Week, M/M, tw: mentioned panic attack, worse off: first semester finals week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 09:50:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9434468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: After careful consideration, planning in a journal, attempted scheduling, the whole nine yards, John had decided that he was fucked.And bad, too.





	

College wasn’t too bad. 

John had been enjoying his freshman year, the first semester. He was still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed though it all. Midterms had proven to be a bit of a struggle, but once everything came to finals? Well…

His head was in his hand, and he was staring at the pile of papers on his desk, the books all around, the absolute disaster. Being a fine-arts major didn’t necessarily mean that his finals would be easy. 

And they sure as fuck weren’t. 

After careful consideration, planning in a journal, attempted scheduling, the whole nine yards, John had decided that he was fucked. 

And bad, too.

It took a lot for him to openly admit to panicking, but here he was, openly admitting to panicking. His heart-rate tripled, his palms were clammy, his chest thumping violently to the point that it hurt. 

 High school had never been this hard…

~~

When Alex returned to their room, about an hour after John had gotten home, he panicked a bit himself. John was nowhere to be seen. This would have caused much worse, had it not been for him hearing gentle shuddering sounds from their bathroom. 

He knit his brow, stepped closer, rapped at the door with gentle knuckles. “John?”

Silence. 

“John, sweetheart, can I come in?”

Still no response. 

Alex jiggled at the handle and found it unlocked. 

Let himself in. 

Found John in the bathtub, knees to his chest. He was completely tuned out of reality. 

Alex had seen this all too many times. Been there himself most of them. He stepped quietly to the side of the tub, knelt down and reached to John. 

“Honey?”

“Mm.”

“You’re having a panic attack. I’m going to touch you. Is that okay?”

One nod. 

Alex reached out and touched his hand, gently holding it with his own now. “Can you breathe, sweetheart? Deeply, hold it just a second?” That had always helped Alex. 

John did as he was told. Alex instructed him when to release. They did it about three more times, then John looked up with glossy eyes, locked them with Alex’s.

“When did you get home?” All he managed to say.

“About five minutes ago. How long have you been here?”

“What time is it?” John wiped the tears from his eyes, wincing when he realized how much he had been crying.

“About.. Three-thirty?”

“An hour maybe?” John said, his voice small. 

Alex held out his arms, John leaned into them. “Let’s get you changed into something comfier, okay? I’ll make you some cocoa, then you can tell me what happened if you’re comfortable with it?”

John just nodded, let Alex help him to his feet. “Thank you, Alex. Thank you.” 

“I’m always here for you, John.” He promised in a gentle voice, kissed away one of the tears that still fell. “Always.”

~~

Quick as he could be, John was in his flannel pajama bottoms, one of Alexander’s giant sweaters, and curled in their bed with a mug of hot cocoa, episodes of _Animaniacs_ playing on his laptop to provide for the extra noise. 

“What happened, John?” Alex asked softly, curling up into the bed beside him and taking his free hand. 

John laced their fingers and squeezed. “Panic attack.” He knew that now, looking back. “I overestimated what I could handle, got… Overwhelmed by all of this shit.” He gestured vaguely back to his desk, nearly sloshing cocoa out of his mug. “High school was never this intense. Nobody told me how hard finals were going to be, how much… How much work there was going to be.”

Alex gave an understanding nod, kissed his temple. “I’m so sorry, honey. I’ll do anything I can do to help you out with this. I know it’s rough, but..” He shrugged absently. John sniffled a little bit and leaned against him. “My professors all assigned essays. I’ve been working on my finals since… Since damn near midterms. I’ve got the time to help you if you’ll accept it.” 

John sniffled and nodded a little, but definitely hesitated. “You’re law, though. This is… This is art history shit, and a lot of it. Plus, fuck... Seven full drawings, twenty some-odd sketches...” He tugged at his hair a little bit. 

 The other nodded. “Yes, I’m more than aware, John. I still want to help you if you’ll allow it. I know more about art history than you’d think.” Alex teased, nudging his side as he did. "So I can definitely help with that portion at the very least."

John smiled and kissed his cheek before leaning against him. “Okay, okay. Point taken. Thank you, Alex… I… Okay… Well, could I maybe use you as a model, too..? You don't have to, I understand if you--”

Alex cut him off, though, shushing him and putting his fingers to the lips of the other. “You don’t even have to ask, honey.” He assured and caught John in an actual kiss, sweet, soft and fleeting. “I’d love to be your model.” 

John smiled brightly and held him close, eyes welling again. At least these were happy tears. “You’re an absolute hero.” He whispered. 

“You can sing my praise later, baby. Now, you just need to relax. We can start working when you're feeling better...” He cooed, rubbing their noses together. 

In that moment, all of it was perfect. John wasn't afraid of his finals, he wasn’t worried about a single thing. In that moment, John knew he could take on the world, and his finals were just the first step.

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! 
> 
> someone on tumblr asked for kings' finals! so here's the first semester, dialogue heavy, of poor John dealing with his first semester of college. 
> 
> i had a lot of mental breakdowns my first semester tbqh
> 
> anyway!
> 
> send me prompts on tumblr, @paperthinrevolutionary, and let me know what you want to see in kings! <3 
> 
> until next time, with love,   
> -krys


End file.
